1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for imaging a target element using tomosynthesis. More specifically, the invention relates to a system, method and computer program product for creating a three-dimensional image of target elements from a plurality of radiation absorbance projection images taken from different angles.
2. Background
Imaging of a patient's tissue has become a common screening and/or diagnostic tool in modern medicine. One example of such imaging is mammography, or the imaging of a patient's breast tissue. Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women today, however, at this time there is no certain way to prevent breast cancer and the best strategy for dealing with breast cancer is early detection of the cancer so that it may be treated prior to metastatic spread. Accordingly, it is important for patients to have access to imaging techniques and systems that will detect very small cancers as early in their development as possible.
Conventional mammography involves an x-ray examination of the breast, typically using a fluorescent panel that converts transmission x-rays from a breast into visible light photons that expose a film. While screening using conventional mammography has been shown to reduce breast cancer deaths by approximately 30 to 50%, this imaging technique lacks the dynamic range that would allow it to detect small or hidden cancers, and thus permit therapy that can improve survival rates further. In particular, conventional mammography techniques suffer from the limitation that three-dimensional anatomical information is projected onto a two dimensional image. Because of this, “structure noise” such as overlapping breast tissues makes it difficult to perceive and characterize small lesions. This can result in a 10 to 30% false-negative diagnosis rate, especially where the cancer is masked by overlying dense fibroglandular tissue.
A three-dimensional approach to imaging could allow for the separation of overlying tissue and thus improve correct diagnosis rates for diseases such as breast cancer; however, three-dimensional imaging has not yet been applied for this purpose in the general population. The most widely used three-dimensional x-ray imaging technique is computed tomography (“CT”). A CT scanner contains a rotating frame that has one or more x-ray tubes mounted on one side and one or more detectors on the opposite side. As the rotating frame spins both the x-ray tube and the detector around the patient, numerous projections of the x-ray beam attenuated by a cross section slice of the body are acquired. These projections are then used to reconstruct cross-sectional images of the body. Despite the fact that CT has been found useful in detecting lesions in the breast, it is not suitable as a technique for regular breast imaging due to the high dose required to take a number of projections (approximately 100 to 1,000 projections) and the low spatial resolution (on the order of a millimeter). In addition, the CT projections mix attenuation effects from other organs of the body (such as those within the chest cavity) with the attenuation of the breast, which can distort information about the breast and causes these interposed organs to be irradiated. Still further, the cost of CT scanning is too high to permit its use as part of an annual exam.
A three-dimensional imaging approach called “tomosynthesis” has also been developed. Tomosynthesis is a technique that allows the reconstruction of tomographic planes on the basis of the information contained in a series of projections acquired from a series of viewpoints about the target object. They need not be regularly spaced, numerous, or arranged in any regular geometry. The tomosythesis technique is promising in that it may provide improved spatial differentiation of nearby tissues at very high resolution comparable to projection 2D imaging, with limited radiation. The problem of 3D reconstruction from tomosynthesis projections has been described as intractable by those skilled in the art.
In order for a three-dimensional imaging technique to be successful in medical diagnosis and other applications, it should offer:                Sufficient spatial resolution and contrast resolution to detect and characterize, for example, breast cancers;        Minimum radiation dose to a patient;        Fast image acquisition;        Cost effectiveness; and        3D reconstruction that can be performed effectively.        